Lock and Key

Janet writes about how lockdown 'clipped her wings' when she struggled with her creativity. Despite this, she ended up writing and drawing non-stop. She shares a short piece along with a surprise bonus.

We met on a sunny day at St. John's Gardens in Liverpool; the weather was too good to waste indoors so please forgive the noisy buses rushing by behind us.

Heidi is a writer, music producer, filmmaker and actress. In My Cats she pays tribute to her cat Coco who passed away in December 2021. It is a light-hearted poem about the joys of having feline friends.

Ratte relives coming out to his father as a trans man. Inkscape, inspired by the different versions of the letters he wrote to his dad, touches on the fears and anxieties that come with sharing your true self to loved ones, the risk of rejection and the importance of acceptance.

If you or anyone you know has been affected by the topics discussed in this episode, you can reach out to the following:

Hannah writes about conflict and its survivors finding comfort in each other. While Cosbie is a poem named after a dog, it explores the trauma his family endured caused by war - something Hannah resonates with having grown up in Northern Ireland.

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Dawn explores life in lockdown with a piece written just after the first one in the UK was announced in 2020. It's a Lockdown is inspired by the events at the time that lead to empty supermarket shelves, people worrying about their next meal and the eventually proven suspicion that while this was all the happening, those in power were breaking their own rules.

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